Points of View: Have Blogs Passed their Peak?

Instead of writing and reading content on blogs, internet users are now increasingly using Facebook and Twitter for micro-blogging and sharing content with others

Internet users are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter for micro-blogging and sharing content. Is this the beginning of the end for serious blogging?

Kiruba Shankar, Founder, Business Blogging

Points of View: Have Blogs Passed their Peak?

Facebook and Twitter are a threat to blogging. I have been a long-time blogger (over seven years) and have prided myself with the frequency of my blogging, averaging at least one post a day.

Things have changed, however. As I look at my blog, it’s been over a week that I made my last post. But my tweets are going great guns - at least twice a day, sometimes more.

Twitter’s biggest advantage is its restriction of 140 characters. It’s easier for me to write down my view in a quick sentence than describing it in paragraphs. Also, Twitter allows me to connect up with my Facebook. Every time I tweet, it goes as an update on my Facebook. It’s like hitting two mangoes with one stone.

Sidharth Rao, CEO, Webchutney

Blogging requires committed time and effort, and most people completely overlooked that. I myself tried twice and finally gave up.

As far as the comparison with Facebook and Twitter goes, the number of content creators on these platforms will surely be larger than blogs. After all, putting together 140 characters is easier than writing 140 words. But, like in the case of blogging, creating a sizeable number of followers requires compelling content that would drive readership. If I remember correctly, the top Twitterers of the world include Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Shaquille O’Neal and Demi Moore.

But if there was this ‘fictitious’ death match between the three, I would put my money on Facebook killing Twitter. When I update my Facebook status, I instantly send a Twitter-like update to folks I know on Facebook. Isn’t that micro-blogging?

I think all social media platforms can complement each other rather than compete.

Simeran Bhasin, Marketing Head, Fastrack

In the long term, the blogosphere will see consolidation. Serious bloggers and big advertisers will still stick to blogs along with a presence on Twitter and Facebook.

An indicator of the strong interlinks between blogging and Facebook (or Twitter) is an increasing number of widgets on blogs carrying Twitter updates of the author.

Blogs have a stronger credibility factor attached to them. They are primarily used by marketers to create a positive image around the brand, engage in serious conversations with consumers and gather meaningful feedback.

Platforms like Twitter and Facebook help in instant dissemination of information and content. So, marketers are using them to strengthen their online presence.

Nirmallya Roy Chowdhury, Vice-President, RMG Connect

Consumer behaviour does not change across mediums. Old media like newspapers and TV survived even after the emergence of new ones like the internet.

We grew up in a non-digital world, wherein, the way of expressing oneself was through reading books and writing letters. The habit of writing letters has not changed. What changed was the shift from the physical format to a digital one (e-mail). Did books disappear after the advent of blogs? No. Similarly, Facebook and Twitter might be just another option. Once, all media houses thought that the internet would eradicate the physical newspaper - it didn’t, not even in the developed world.

The serious blogger will not fade away. Facebook is more interactive and built on the basic fact that human beings are social animals. All these will fuel the growth of one another. Blogs will remain as a medium for one’s ‘self-expression’ while Facebook and Twitter will stay as the media of ‘social expression’.

(Points of View (POV) is a regular column which carries opinions of industry professionals on a current topic of discussion in the advertising, media and marketing industry.)

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com